Nov. 7, 2025
By Serenity Mendoza
Staff Writer
The cross country team raced toward success, completing its regular season with a 9-1 record for boys varsity and a 6-4 record for girls varsity. The boys finished second in the league meet at Garret Mountain in Woodland Park on Oct. 7, while the girls placed fourth.
Head Coach Picardo, who has been mentoring the team for over two decades, said his approach to coaching involves cultivating a positive environment that pushes student-athletes to reach their potential.
“When I see our kids, I envision what they can be if they put the work in and they stick with it,” Picardo said. “That’s what drives and inspires me to get the kids to be the best version of themselves, not just as an athlete, but also as people.”
Picardo said that to perform their best during races, runners must remain mentally present.
“There are times during a race or a season where you can get off track, and we need to be able to stay on track and stay focused, get into a running mindset before races and during races,” Picardo said.
He said cross country is an especially challenging sport.
“There is not a tougher athlete in this school than the 39 kids who run on this team,” Picardo said. “There is no break between plays, there’s no water break, there’s no time out. You’re just pushing your body every day to exhaustion to get better.”
Junior Gabriel Angelli, who has run cross country and spring track since his freshman year and joined winter track last year, said cross country is his most physically demanding sport.
“I don’t think any other sport you… feel as much pain as you would during a race. You really have to dig deeper than you would in any other scenario,” Angelli said.
Despite the physical intensity of distance running, Angelli said being part of the cross country team is worth the exhaustion.
“It is the best way to really push yourself as a person,” Angelli said. “It shows you aspects of yourself that you would never see in any other scenario.”
Angelli said his teammates inspire him to keep growing as an athlete and a person.
“There is no break between plays, there’s no water break, there’s no time out. You’re just pushing your body every day to exhaustion to get better.”
“We all kind of started on the same level, and we’ve all pushed ourselves so hard so we could be where we’re at right now. If I didn’t have them, I would be nowhere close to where I am right now. They really do mean a lot to me,” Angelli said.
Junior captain Cathia Nogueira, who has been on the team for three years, said when she thinks about how much she has improved, she knows her hard work is paying off.
Nogueira said she felt especially accomplished on Sept. 6 at the Roxbury Invitational in Roxbury.
“Crossing the finish line knowing I had a new [personal record] of 19.37 [minutes] felt absolutely amazing,” Nogueira said.
She said she credits her achievements not only to herself but to her teammates.
“A huge reason I run cross country and continue to run distance in winter and spring track is because of our team dynamic. Our distance team is extremely supportive of one another, both boys and girls,” Nogueira said.
She said the team exhibits consistent determination.
“We all show up every day, whether it’s hot, cold, raining, sunny, whether we’re in a good mood or not. We all show up ready and wanting to work hard and get better,” said Nogueira.
